1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an address inquiry system, a computer software product, and an address inquiry method, for example, used when one, who gets access to an old address of a changer who has changed his or her address and cannot communicate with the changer, inquires about a new address of the changer.
2. Description of the Related Art
When two persons or corporations who are away from each other communicate with each other bi-directionally or uni-directionally, the other party concerned in communication is generally specified by the use of some address. When this address is wrong, the communication with the aforesaid other party is impossible.
In some cases, however, the address of the other party is unknown because the other party has moved. Therefore, various means for disclosing a new address of a new location to an inquirer have been hitherto provided.
In the case of a telephone number, for example, it is possible to automatically inform one who got access to an old telephone number about a new telephone number of a new location for a fixed period of time.
Even when the old telephone number is unknown, a paper telephone directory (the Yellow Page or White Page), commercially available package software thereof, and the like are given as means for searching someone's telephone number from his or her name and the like. If such means are used, anyone can know a new telephone number of a new location as far as the telephone number is registered.
Also regarding a mail address, an electronic mail address, (hereinafter defined as an e-mail address in this embodiment) a home page address (URL), and the like in addition to the telephone number, the similar listing service is provided, and a desired address can be known without any limitation as far as the address is registered in the list.
Incidentally, in the case of a mail address, mail is only forwarded to a registered new address without a post office disclosing the new address to a sender. Therefore, in this case, it is necessary for a receiver of the mail to inform the sender of the mail about the new address on another occasion.
According to the aforesaid conventional services, however, the following problems of various sorts which need to be solved exist.
(1) In most of conventional services, as described in Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 11-74931, a new address of a changer is disclosed to an inquirer unconditionally or by the input of a password if the inquirer inquires about an old address of the changer and the said old address is registered. Namely, in such services, the new address can be reported or not be reported depending on a password and the like, but it is impossible to selectively inform the inquirers about the new address depending on individual inquirers.
(2) In the services like this, the changer side cannot know when or to whom the new address is disclosed.
(3) Conventionally, to notify a third party of change information about a URL of a home page, it is necessary to notify him or her of a URL (a new address) of a new home page on the old home page. Therefore, the domain name of the old home page and a contract with an Internet service provider needs to be maintained, which causes a problem that the cost thereof needs to be borne during the notification of change information.
(4) When change information about a telephone number or mail address is given, there is a limit in terms of a period to the present service of a telephone office or a post office.
(5) In the case of mail service, the receiver needs to inform a sender of mail delivered to the old address about the new address on another occasion by himself or herself as described above.
(6) Meanwhile, in transport by the majority of private companies, it is impracticable to make a forwarding request to all of transport companies, and moreover, some private companies do not accept such a request.
(7) Addresses sometimes cease to be used for some reason. Namely, the use of the addresses themselves is sometimes stopped without the telephone number being changed. In this case, since the conventional service handles only addresses of the same sort, some who know only the telephone number cannot know other addresses of the changer.